The Michigan Daily - SPORTSTuesday - Tuesday, September 3, 1996 - 15A I BARRY SOLLENBERGER *ollenberger in Paradise mlbwm AAV mro -_ - an t ;T A di erent look on the Rose Bow 's move to bowl alliance Yes, we are all still going to die. Yes, we are all still going to give the government about a third of what we earn. But the three certainties in life - death, taxes and the Big Ten champion versus the Pac-10 champion in the Rose Bowl - are no more. Because starting in 1999, the Rose Bowl will join the bowl alliance, which matches the top two college foot- b41 teams in one bowl game. This means that for the time since 1946, the Big Ten and Pac-l0 champi- ons are not obligated to meet in the Granddaddy of them all. And it's about time. This constant fighting over the polls has gone on long enough. The bickering should end when the Rose joins the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls to make up the four major alliance events. "To have a national championship in the context of the traditional bowl season is a great ending," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said. "The bowl system will eaithier." his certainly is true. But will this new agreement really have much of an impact on the Big Ten? With one exception, the 11 league teams rarely challenge for the national championship. Michigan has not been a factor in the national title race in recent memory. And Ohio State can't even get to the Rose Bowl,,let alone win it. Last October, everyone was up in arms over the pow- erful Buckeyes being locked out of a national champi- otship showdown with Nebraska or Florida because of 1 Big Ten's ties to the Rose Bowl. here was even some talk of attempting to break those ties so Ohio State could play in the winner-take- all Fiesta Bowl. As it turned out, the Buckeyes weren't even the best team in the Big Ten. And the best team, Northwestern, wasn't even as good as the best team in the mediocre Pac-10, USC. The Trojans beat the Wildcats, 41-32, in Pasadena. For the record, the Buckeyes last played in Pasadena on New Year's Day in 1986 and last won there in 1974. d the Buckeyes are still considered a national *er?) If you listen to Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, winning the national championship isn't even his team's No. I goal. "The way we looked at is that it's been too long since we have been to (the Rose Bowl) on New Year's Day," Carr said. "It is more imlportant to win the Big Ten these next two years before the bowl thing kicks in." The point is that the only school in the Big Ten that should be whistling Dixie over the agreement is Penn State. The Nittany Lions are the conference's only true national power. They won the national championship in 1982 and 1986 and (some would say) were robbed of a third national title two years ago. That season, unbeaten and No. 2 Penn State was locked out of a matchup with undefeated and No. I Nebraska. The Nittany Lions proceeded to beat Oregon in the 1995 Rose Bowl and the Cornhuskers beat Miami in the Orange. Nebraska won the national championship and Penn State got a pat on the back and a "sorry 'bout that" from the NCAA. The two would have met under the new agreement. And Penn State coach Joe Paterno must be tickled to death. In the long run, everyone benefits from the comple- tion of the alliance. The players benefit from finally getting to decide the national championship on the field. The conferences benefit. The fans benefit. As a whole, college football benefits. But perhaps no one will reap the awards from the new agreement more than the Rose Bowl. Based on a rota- tion, the Granddaddy of them all will host the title game in 2002, its centennial year. And thank goodness for Rose Bowl officials. They are guaranteed a national championship game. And they need this guarantee. Because if you look at the perennial mediocrity of the Big Ten and Pac-10, it could have been another 100 years before they would have hosted a national champi- onship game. - Barry Sollenberger can be reached over email at jsol@umich.edu His column appears each week in SPORTSMondav $ike & Sport 1178 S. Main * Chelsea, MI (313) 475-9371 TREKuSA STUDENT DISCOUNT Just 15 Minutes from Ann Arbor BACK TO SCHOOL SALE' h . .. «.,:*, Want to take a ROAD TR IP? NO CAR ? 10 P ROBLLb1! 4 r;; . M Open 7 Days a Week CAR/VANS RENTAL Available to ALL UM Students! (with some restrictions) 438 W. Huron Ann Arbor 663-20.3;3 Michigan men's tennis adds Pusztai,.B lain to spring roster Richard Shin , Sports Writer While the Michigan men's tennis team may have lost Peter Pusztai, its top play- er from a year ago, to graduation, the Wolverines still have a Pusztai in the lineup. Miki Pusztai, an Ann Arbor native and the younger brother of the former Michigan standout, will don the maize and blue for the Wolverines this spring joining fellow junior transfer Brook -Win. The two shore up a Michigan lineup which lost three starters, including its top two singles players, Pusztai and John Costanzo. "Peter Pusztai's shoes will be hard to fill," Michigan assistant coach Dan Goldberg said, "but we're pleased with who we have." Miki Pusztai, a senior, has junior eli- *ility after transferring from Virginia h over the summer. At Virginia Tech, r played first and second singles as well as No. I doubles. Pusztai cited displeasure with the Virginia Tech program as one of the ynain reasons for leaving the team. "I had some differences with the coach, and the program wasn't improv- ing my game,' Pusztai said. "I'm happy to come back to Ann Arbor and look for- ward to playing for (Michigan coach Brian Eisner)." Blain, a West Bloomfield native and a transfer from the University of Florida, will also join the defending Big Ten champions. Blain was recruited by the Wolverines three years ago and played No. 3 and No. 4 singles for the Gators as well as the first doubles position. Blain, whose older brother Brady plays tennis for Illinois, was ranked in the top 30 in the nation in high school and was the state high school champion in Michigan his junior year. Pusztai and Blain, now teammates, have faced each other in high school play. Blain defeated Pusztai in a three-set match in the state semifinals in 1993. Blain eventually defeated current Michigan player Arvid Swan in the final to capture the title. "Blain .and I have bumped heads before,' Pusztai said. "I am really look- ing forward to playing together with him." Pusztai and Blain will add depth to a solid doubles corps, as well as provide immediate help to a veteran singles group. Michigan sophomore Jake Raiton is recovering from right shoulder surgery, and Goldberg recognizes the benefit of adding two experienced players while he recovers. "We definitely have more depth than last year" Goldberg said. "Overall, we'll be an improved team over last season, especially at doubles." Under NCAA eligibility rules, both Pusztai and Blain will not be able to compete for Michigan until the spring season. Pusztai will have time to reflect on the impression his brother made on the program, as well as what he can con- tribute. "Pete's a great player, and no one expects me to do what he did," the younger Pusztai said. "I just want to be a part of the team and make a contribu- tion." Michigan begins fall conditioning today and returns five starters from last season's 18-8 squad. CHEVROLET' NISSAN, INC. A - OeE. www. rampychevynissa n.com 663-3321 Hours. Sales; Mon., Th. 9-9 Tues.,Wed.,Fri. 9-6 Sat. 10-5 service /parts/body shop; Mon.-Fri. 7-6 -i Call for an appointment or just walk in NM 3515 Jackson Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103 A 1996-97 Michigan men's basketball and ice hockey schedules Here are the men's basketball and ice hockey schedules for the upcoming season. Tickets go on sale Monday at 8 a.m. E at the Athletic Ticket Office at 1000 S. State St. Wen's basketball Ice hockey 1K Crisler Arena games in bold Yost Arena games in bold I ,.. z Date Opponent _Time Nov. 11 Australian Adelaide 36'ers 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 Athletes in Action 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26 Ball State 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 Cleveland State 7 p.m. Dec. 2 Bradley 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 Detroit-Mercy 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 Duke 1:30 p.m. ,ec. 11 St. John's 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 LSU* 3 p.m. Dec. 21 Arizona* 3:45 p.m. Dec. 27-30 Rainbow Classic TBA Memphis vs. Michigan Pittsburgh vs. Maryland Northwestern vs. Hawaii Washinatnn Sate v. Gonrgia Date Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 18 Oct. 24 & 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 2 Nov. 8 Nov. 9 Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 22 & 23 Nov. 29 & 30 Dec. 7 Opponent Time Blue-White Game# 7 p.m. Lake Superior State 7 p.m. Maine* 7:30 p Alaska-Fairbanks 7 p.m. Notre Dame 7 p.m. Michigan State 7 p.m. Ohio State 7 p.m. Bowling Green 7 p.m. Michigan State 7 p.m. Bowling Green 7 p.m. Brown 7 p.m. College Hockey Showcase* Nov. 29 Minnesota, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30 Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m. Ferris State 7 p.m. .m.